Israeli Defense Minister Gallant Announces IDF Control Over Khan Yunis

Following months of fierce fighting, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday announced the defeat of Hamas in Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip.  

According to the statement made by the defense minister, the IDF caused significant damage to Hamas forces in the past 10 days. 

Gallant revealed that roughly 10,000 Hamas fighters were killed and another 10,000 wounded by Israeli forces during the war. Based on the casualty figures published by the IDF several weeks ago, Hamas suffered roughly 1,000 and 2,000 more deaths and injuries, respectively.  

Including the 2,500 captured by Israel, Hamas’ pre-October 7 armed forces were assessed to employ some 30,000 to 40,000 fighters, but now only 40 to 50% are combat-ready if these figures are accurate.  

Outside of Gallant, no other official IDF channels have confirmed the city’s capture as of Thursday. Several days ago, the IDF implied that potentially weeks of fighting remained before Israeli forces took control of the city’s western neighborhoods, prompting questions as to whether there was a military breakthrough.

In the statement, Gallant assured that the IDF’s campaign would continue southward to Rafah, where it is suspected Hamas’s leadership has moved along with the hostages.  

Nonetheless, because Hamas has embedded itself so deeply within Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, hiding in hospitals, schools, and a massive network of underground tunnels, it is likely the IDF will face a resurgent guerilla campaign despite Israel’s nominal control of the major urban areas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicating that the war “will take many months.”  

Although Israel is alleged to have achieved operational control of the enclave’s north, including Gaza City, there have been reports of firefights between the IDF and Hamas in that area throughout the week.  

While most Palestinian civilians evacuated to either Rafah along the Egyptian border or the United Nations-run humanitarian safe zone along the Mediterranean coast at the start of Israel’s ground operations in Khan Yunis, attempting to fit 1.9 million internally displaced Gazans into a smaller and smaller area has only served to worsen the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave, humanitarian organizations say. Similarly, UNWRA’s recent funding crisis, prompted by revelations that some of its employees participated in the October 7 terrorist attack, has the potential to exacerbate the situation even further.